Schodde, Frederick H. "Fred"

1888-1949 | Merchant

Frederick "Fred" Henry Schodde was born in Wehdem, Germany on March 24, 1888, to Unk Schodde and Wilhelmina Unk Schodde.[1] He immigrated to the United States, at the age of seven, with his parents in 1895.

On October 25, 1913, Schodde married Marie Buhler in Twin Falls, Idaho. She was born in Zurich, Switzerland on January 25, 1889.[2] Fred and Marie Schodde's two daughters were Antoinette, born in 1915, and Virginia, born in 1917.

Frederick Schodde and his family first arrived in Alaska in 1915, where he spent two years in Juneau and Kanatak. In Juneau, he worked at the Peerless Bakery. He opened a store he called the Green Front in Kanatak in 1916. In Anchorage, Schodde and his wife, Marie, opened a bakery, but sold it within a year of his arrival. During World War I, he was employed for a time at City Bakery and Coffee House (C Street between 4th and 5th Avenue) in Anchorage, owned by Raso and Company.[3]

Then the Schoddes opened Schodde’s Green Front store at the northwest corner of 4th Avenue and C Street.[4] The store served as the Schoddes home for many years as they developed their business. They sold candy, ice cream, newspapers, notions, school supplies and gift items. By World War II, the name had been changed to Schodde’s Variety Store but it remained at the same location.[5] They also operated one of the few gasoline stations in town, with two hand-operated pumps on the sidewalk in front of the store.[6]

The Schoddes were one of the first families to import an automobile into Anchorage. Marie Schodde was the first woman in town to obtain a driver's license, and drove until she was eighty years old. She drove her car for years and enjoyed motor touring when not busy with gardening, school work, or participating in other civic or social activities.[7]

Marie Schodde served two terms on the Anchorage School Board (1938-1941). During her two terms on the school board, she served as treasurer.[8] She was also active in other civic affairs.

Frederick Schodde was a member of the Anchorage Elks Lodge. In his obituary, the Anchorage Daily Times reported that during World War II, he was an “active member” of the Alaska Territorial Guard. After his retirement in 1942, he devoted his time to gardening and, with his wife, “made one of the most attractive gardens in the city.”[9]

Frederick Henry Schodde died on July 5, 1949, in Anchorage, after reportedly suffering a heart attack. Marie Schodde died on October 10, 1975, in Anchorage. They are both buried in the Elks Tract, Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery.[10] In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by her daughter, Virginia Schodde Davey (1917-1947). They were survived by their daughter, Marie Antoinette “Toni” Schodde Petersen (1915-1980).[11] Schodde Street, in the Municipality of Anchorage, is named in honor of the family.[12]

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Frederick "Fred" Schodde with his Ford Model T, one of the first automobiles in Anchorage, 1927.

Courtesy of the Schodde family.

Marie Schodde and her daughters in their Ford Model T, 1927.

Courtesy of the Schodde family.

The Schodde home at 5th Avenue and C Street, Anchorage, ca. 1930.

Courtesy of the Schodde family.

Antoinette "Toni' Schodde Petersen (1915-1980).

Courtesy of the Schodde family.

The original Green Front Store in Kanatak, 1917.

Courtesy of the Schodde family.

The Schodde family in front of their home at 5th Avenue and C Street, Anchorage, 1923.

Courtesy of the Schodde family.

The Green Front store at 4th Avenue and C Street, Anchorage.

Courtesy of the Schodde family.

The Schodde family in front of the Green Front store, Anchorage, 1923.

[4] After the Green Front Store was sold by the Schoddes, it was operated under the name of State Mercantile. See, “Frederick Schodde Pioneer Resident, Succumbs at 61,” Anchorage Daily Times, July 6, 1949, 4.

[8] “Dr. Walkowski is Board President,” Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, April 20, 1940, 5, https://newspapers.com/image/4527047 (accessed September 21, 2016); and Helve Enatti, “Anchorage Public Schools, 1915-1951: A Thirty-Six Year School District Development Study,” M.A. thesis, University of Alaska, May 1967, 356.